Virus's Toll in Saudi Arabia Raises Fear of Faster Spread

Saudi
Arabia's announcements in the past five days of seven new deaths from a
SARS-like virus have heightened fears that the Mideast outbreak is
entering a more-aggressive phase.
On Monday, security guards, their faces covered by green medical
masks, stood watch outside the intensive-care unit at a small hospital
in Hofuf, in the country's Eastern province, that is treating some of
the victims in the most lethal surge yet of the year-old outbreak of a
novel coronavirus.
The kingdom's Ministry of Health disclosed the latest two deaths, of a
62-year-old woman and 71-year-old man, late Sunday night, saying in a
brief statement that all of the current new cases of the virus appear to
be clustered at a single hospital in Hofuf, one of the main cities of
Eastern province, the heart of the Saudi oil industry.
The terse announcement by Saudi health officials triggered renewed
international complaints that the kingdom has been slow in reporting
details of the outbreak, sought by international organizations and
countries trying to assess and prevent the spread of the virus.
The Ministry of Health announcement also is feeding fears and rumors among Saudis living in the midst of the outbreak.
"People are sending messages, SMSs, saying, 'stay home.' That all the
hospitals have the virus. All," said one man, a cousin to one of the
men who died and to two other men who have been sickened in the current
outbreak and are still being treated.
The man confirmed an account from a hospital official in Hofuf that
his three relatives had gone to three different hospitals in Eastern
Province.
"The Ministry of Health just wants to close the books" by saying the
latest outbreak is limited to one hospital, the man said, speaking on a
Hofuf street lined with medical centers and pharmacies.